Insight

English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill: The Quiet Revolution You Can’t Ignore

By Ben Lucas,

Senior Account Director

The English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, being debated by MPs this week, is the most significant piece of legislation you may never have heard of. It’s unlikely to grab headlines, but make no mistake: it impacts people, businesses and groups across England more than most.

Here’s three reasons you should care:

1. More powers

This is a big, ambitious Bill. It seeks to standardise and deepen devolution across England by creating a new tier of ‘strategic authorities’. It effectively disbands two-tier authorities (think district councils). And it gives local leaders (think elected mayors) new powers over transport, housing, skills, economic development, health and public safety. That’s a vast remit of services nearly everyone relies on. In return, mayors will hope responsibilities are backed by the resources (for instance, capabilities for new health competences) to properly deliver.

As well as structural reform, the Bill introduces specific but politically-salient powers for local decision-makers that will have big impacts. That includes:

A community ‘right to buy’ (replacing the ‘right to bid’), giving locals first refusal on assets of community value – with implications for development and regeneration

Powers for transport authorities to regulate e-bikes and e-scooters - reflecting the political headaches authorities have faced following resident complaints on issues like parking

Electoral changes are coming too, with preferential voting returning for mayors (including local authority mayors) and Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), reversing the Conservatives’ move to First Past the Post. This change, framed around ‘making every vote count’, is also highly political as it should benefit Labour on paper in cities whilst squeezing parties like Reform UK, the Greens, and left independents.

2. More powers to come

This Bill isn’t devolution’s endgame, only the latest stage in a journey that began in modern form in the 1990s, expanded further under red and blue governments alike (remember Levelling Up?) The trajectory is clear, not least as this Bill embeds a “right to request” even more powers, paving the way for negotiations over further competences and funding. That sets the stage for political battles, such as over local fiscal powers, so watch this space.

Some key powers aren’t even listed in this Bill. The ability for mayors to influence their local railways is expected in the forthcoming Railways Bill, whilst more mature combined authorities remain deep in talks with Whitehall on Integrated Settlements. These will determine what powers and programmes can actually be delivered - and what needs to be politically dialled down, or left out.

3. More prominence of the ‘local’ in your operating environment

Devolution isn’t just a reorganisation, it’s packed with politics. Established mayors - even Labour ones - are using the Bill to stake new claims. Andy Burnham (Greater Manchester) is pushing for licensing powers over taxis, whilst Kim McGuinness (North East) is calling for powers to levy a ‘tourism tax’ - with the Government’s refusal being framed in classic ‘us vs. Westminster’ terms. In this fraught environment, an issue or sector can swiftly fall under the spotlight.

The faces of decision-makers and powerbrokers will change too, not least in a context where the UK’s fragmenting politics gives newer actors (think Reform UK) a shot at power. New authorities will soon elect mayors for the first time, with four elections set for 2026 (Essex, Norfolk & Suffolk, Hampshire, and Sussex) with more in 2027 (Cumbria, and Cheshire & Warrington).

Navigating tensions between central and regional decisionmakers, new and maturer authorities, and the politics of new, hard-fought contests, is increasingly important.

Get ahead

The Bill may be a “quiet revolution”, but its impact will be anything but.

For organisations operating in England, there’s a choice: get ahead and shape these changes, or risk being shaped by them.